A Face in the Crowd ch1
by Pan-Chan4
Summary: none


Pan sat up and looked toward the surf. The midday sunlight splashed across the waves and splintered into hundreds of dancing beams. Pan shielded her eyes and searched the shoreline for her family. Finally she spotter her parents and younger sister building a sand castle. Pan smiled. Her five-year-old sister, Megan, was busy "decorating" the castle with bits of roughly, dark green seaweed.  
  
Closing her book, pan glanced around. It was only the first weekend of June. There was still a whole week of school left, but the beach was already crowed with people playing volleyball, relaxing, wading, and jogging along the shoreline. Swimmers were bobbing up and down in the pluming waves, laughing and shouting. Pan leaned back again, took a deep breath of salty air, and closed her eyes as she listened to the pleasant sound. Suddenly the shouts of joy and playfulness turned to awful shrieks mingled with dozens of urgent voices. Startled, pan looked up. She saw the lifeguard race toward the ocean and dive into the churning waves. All at once it seemed that everyone was up and moving. Pan jumped to her feet and looked to where her parents and sister had been playing, the sandcastle was there, being trampled by the gathering crowd, but she couldn't see her family anywhere. Frantically she scanned the shoreline. "Mom! Dad!" she cried out, joining the rush of people. As she was pushed and jostled by the sea of onlookers. Pan could feel her heart pounding louder that the crashing waves. Where were her parents? Where was Megan?  
  
"Look!" a nearby woman gasped, "the lifeguard has someone. Can you see who it is!" "Oh, no!" pan cried as she tried to force her way through the throng. Please, please don't let it be any of my family. She pleaded silently.  
  
Suddenly Pan felt someone touches her shoulder, and she heard a familiar voice say her name with a flood of relief she turned to see her mother. "We were so worried about you." Pan's mom said, slipping her arm around her waist. "I was worried about you too!" Pan returned sincerely. She looked around. "Where're dad & Megan?" "There over there", her mom said, pointing toward the edge of the crowd. "Come on. I don't want to lose you again." As they joined the others, the crowd appeared to craw back, and pan saw the lifeguard struggling to pull the heavyset man onto the beach. The man was pale and limp. Another lifeguard sprinter to help. "Please, give them some room!" he commanded. Without a word, pan leaned against her mother. The noisy crowd became silent as the young man & woman determinedly to start the ashen-faced victim breathing again. But he remained still, his eyes staring vacantly toward the sky.  
  
"What's going to happen dad?" pan asked with concern, hearing a siren wailing in the distance. Her dad shook his head and lifted Megan into his arms. "I don't think he's going to make it," he said somberly. "We should go," he added. Pan shivered, feeling suddenly chilled. And thought there wasn't a cloud in the sky the bright sunny day now seemed pale and drab. Seagulls cried overhead, their calls resembling mournful cries. She turned to looks at the empty ocean, and then quickly caught her breath; A tall, dark haired man was standing ankle deep in the water, staring coldly at the man who had drowned. He was wearing an old war uniform with black & silver armor. The hem of his cloak swirled in the foaming surf.  
  
The man seemed oddly familiar to pan. It was more than just the outfit that she somehow recognized, it was something about the lake of emotion. the indifference in his lack of expression-pan has seed that man somewhere before. "Mom," pan said touching her mother's arm. " Look at that man where do we know him from? Don't you think its weird for someone to wear a uniform like that to the beach?" her mom looked in the direction that pan was staring." What man, honey? I don't see who you mean." Pan turned to look at her mother. "The one with the long cloak," she said pointing "He's standing in." pan stopped and let her hand drop. "That's funny. He's gone." Her mother shrugged. "He probably just got lost in the crowd like you did."  
  
Just then the emergency vehicle ground to a halt on the sand, it's siren still blaring. "Come on," pan's mom urged soberly. "Lets go and give the paramedics some room to do their job." At dinner that night, pan didn't feel like eating, and her parents understand. Later she stretched out on her bed in her darkened room, staring out at the starry night sky. She absentmindedly ran one finger across the trunk of her small, well-worn stuffed elephant, peanuts. "It's just so sad," pan whispered sleepily to the little animal. " Wonder if that poor man had a family." She felt the slight sting of tears as she wearily closed her eyes and fell asleep. Drifting in a dream world she could still see the man's sightless stare. At first the image was very distinct, then slowly his features began to change into another pale image. All at once pan found herself gazing at the strange man in silver and black whom she had seen at the beach that day. The image in her mind burned itself into the space in front of her until it seemed as if the man were staring in through the slightly opened window for the second floor bedroom, his haggard eyes hidden in the darkness of the night. Pan tried to scream. But no sound would leave her throat. She tried to move, but nothing happened. It was as if every muscle in her body had turned to stone. Then, as impossible as it seemed, the gaunt men floated through the darkness, closer and closer still toward the window. His long gleaming cloak fluttered in the breeze.  
  
NO! Pan shrieked in her mind, helpless at the man slowly raised his head in a gesture of command, and the window still open even farther. NO, GET AWAY, GET AWAY! Pan sat up in bed, her hands aching, she had gripped the sheets so tightly that the blood drained from her fingertips. She gaped into the shadows of her room. Peanuts had tumbled to the floor beside the bed. The window was as it was no phantom man starring in at her. "I must have been dreaming," pan sighed aloud. She gathered up peanuts and slipped under the covers. She still had the creepy feeling that she had seen the spectral man before. Perhaps in another nightmare, she thought. With one more last long look at the window, Pan soon fell asleep. ..(Next Day).. 


End file.
